First of all, the good news is that Carmen’s increased seizure medication (Keppra) seems to be helping. For the past few months, Carmen has been on a very small dose of Keppra. Over the next few weeks we will gradually increase the Keppra dose. She is still having daily seizures but they are not quite as intense. We now have Valium on hand for emergency use when Carmen has a seizure that won’t stop.

One of the ushers at our church asked us to come early today so the ushers could pray for Carmen. We managed to get there on time (you would think living 1.75 miles away would mean we could get to church on time!) and the ushers prayed for Carmen. Thank you, Gary, for arranging this. It meant so much to us!

Pastor Dale concluded his “Heaven Hope Us” series today and talked about Heaven being a place of joyous reunions. I think that after Carmen dies, Heaven will seem so much more real to me, a place I yearn for. Pastor Dale also talked about young children going to Heaven. In Carmen’s room, we have a wooden plaque with Matthew 19:14, “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.’” I love this verse. I bought this plaque several years ago in Lancaster, PA at an Amish shop. I picture Carmen running and playing and laughing in Heaven. What a wonderful hope!

After church, we went to our friends’ and former neighbors’ house, Salih, Ritha and Bianca. Ritha called me a few days ago to tell me that she was hosting a PartyLite candle party for Carmen thru Lucia, a PartyLite consultant. So, imagine my surprise when we pulled into our old neighborhood and Rachinee’s car was in Ritha’s driveway! (Rachniee is the Cookie Lee jewelry consultant who hosted Carmen’s first “friend-raiser” last month.) Ritha and Rachinee had gotten together and decided to do another “friend-raiser.” So, today’s party was a combination of candles and jewelry! Oh, and yummy food, of course. Salih made his famous guacamole. I could eat that guacamole every single day! Thank you so much Salih, Ritha, Bianca, Rachinee, and Lucia! It’s fun having friends from different walks of life all together! To Ritha’s former boss: We enjoyed talking with you and thank you so much for sharing your daughter’s story.

Last thought for today: many of the families affected by Tay Sachs and similar diseases raise money for education and testing and a search for a cure. As of now, Dave and I don’t feel a strong pull to go this direction. Instead, we are praying about helping people adopt. I have this dream that starting in a few years, in Carmen’s honor, we will raise money to pay for one international adoption per year. This seems huge as international adoptions are often $30,000+. But, I can’t think of a more wonderful way to make Carmen’s life really count than to help families bring home 30, 40, or 50 kids in our lifetime. This is something that we would never have thought to do had Carmen come home healthy. If God is in this, then we believe He will provide a way.